About Zaria
Zaria is a large and well-known city in Kaduna State in the northern part of Nigeria. It is also a Local Government Area. Zaria used to be known as Zazzau. It was one of the first seven Hausa states. Zaria houses Nigeria’s largest university, the Ahmadu Bello University as well as being home to a number of prominent Nigerians.
According to the 2006 population census, Zaria was estimated to have 408,198 people. It is home to the Zazzau Emirate.
Zaria was formerly known as Zazzau. Zazzau is reported to have been founded in 1536 and was later renamed after Queen Zaria. It was known for institutional market exchange and farming.
Zaria was the most southern part of all the Hausa city-states. It was a trading point for Saharan caravans as well as a prominent city in the Hausa slave trade. Islam arrived in Zaria in the late 1450s through its surrounding cities, Kano and Katsina. Trade also flourished among these cities as traders brought camel caravans filled with salt in exchange for slaves and grain.
A notable ruler of Zaria was Queen Amina. Under her rule, the city-state’s power peaked. Her military campaigns established a tributary region including the kingdoms of Kano and Katsina.
The economy of Zaria is primarily based on agriculture. Staples produced are guinea corn and millet. Cash crops include cotton, groundnuts and tobacco.
Zaria and its surrounding towns is also a market place for traditional crafts such as dyeing, leather work, furniture making, and cap making. For over 200 years, Zaria has been the centre of a textile industry that makes elaborately hand-embroidered robes that are worn by Nigerian and West African men.
Zaria also houses Ahmadu Bello University, the largest university in Nigeria and the second largest on the African continent.
The university is well known for its activities in the fields of Agriculture, Science, Finance, Medicine and Law.
Zaria is also the base for the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology,
ZIP Codes and Postal Codes
ZIP codes are only available and used in the United States of America. In Nigeria, we don’t make use of ZIP codes but postal codes which differ from state to state. Wherever your location is in the country, if you are asked to give a ZIP code, you should give the postal code of the particular state you are in.
In Nigeria, Postal codes are numeric and comprise of six digits, the first digit is the regional code while the last three digits represent the delivery location which most times can be any of the following: a post office facility, an urban area or a rural area. In the allocation of postal codes, NIPOST, the Nigerian postal service has divided the country into nine regions. The regional codes make up the first digit of each region’s postal code. The first, second and third digits make the dispatch district for outgoing sorting.
Below are the correct postal figures for areas within Zaria:
Palace : 810241
Kofar Gaya : 810254
Kofar Jatau : 810253
Hayin Dogo : 810282
Gyallesu : 810231
Tudun Wada : 810232
Hanwa : 810211
Chikali : 810212
Railway Quartres : 810221
Sabon Gari : 810222
Marmara : 810224
Gaskiya Corporation : 810251
Kwangila : 810281
Tsugugi : 810225
Unguwar Kanawa : 810223